TOWSON, Md. -- Coming off a three-match set of winning sweeps, it's another weekend of matches for the Towson University women's volleyball team as the Tigers head to the Rutgers Invitational for a pair on Friday and one on Sunday.

First Serve
Another weekend, another invitational for the Towson University women's volleyball team as the Tigers head up Interstate 95 for the Rutgers Invitational. Towson will play three matches on Friday and Saturday at College Ave. Gym in New Brunswick, facing Rutgers, Virginia and Princeton.

In The National Rankings
None of the teams involved in this week's invitational are mentioned in the AVCA Poll.

Scouting the Tigers
The Tigers roll to New Jersey with a three-match sweep in their back pockets after taking down Quinnipiac, Seton Hall and Morgan State in straight sets last weekend. Olivia Finckel leads the way for Towson after knocking down 28 kills last weekend at a 3.50 kills per set rate. Emily Jarome was close behind with 25 kills for 2.78 per set. Jarome paced Towson with four aces while Fay Bakodimou and Annie Ertz had two aces each. On the defensive side, The Law Firm of Finckel and Grassini was back in business as the pair had nine and 10 stops, respectively. Rookie Lydia Wiers also had nine blocks en route to MVP honors at the Morgan State Invitational. Donning the libero jersey for the first time in 2019, Camryn Allen came up with 29 digs in her nine sets, averaging 3.22 per frame. Ertz had the best per-set average, keeping the ball up 3.83 times per frame with 23 over six sets played. Jarome joined them with 22 digs herself. Wiers came out strong in her first intercollegiate action as she hit at a .529 percent rate, taking 34 swings with 21 kills and just three attack errors. Grassini is also hitting over 50 percent, putting down 17 kills on 27 attempts with only three errors, a .519 hitting percentage. The Tigers opened 2019 with three-straight sweeps, the first time since the 2016 campaign Towson opened the season with a trio of clean sweeps. 

Scouting the Scarlet Knights
Rutgers opens its home schedule on Friday morning after falling to 0-3 following a trip to Colorado. The Scarlet Knights dropped a four-set decision to Northern Colorado before being swept by New Mexico. In the finale, Rutgers went five sets with Grand Canyon. The Scarlet Knights offense is led by Anastasiya Kudryashova, who averages 3.25 kills per set. Kamila Cieslik is second with a 2.13 per set average. Kudryashova and Inna Balyko logged three service aces apiece last weekend. At the net, Jasmine Stackhouse paces Rutgers with a 1.08 per-set block average. She has 12 assisted blocks to date. Karysa Swackenberg is the back-row leader with 4.33 digs per set after 52 in the first weekend. Balylko is second at a 2.33 per set average.

Towson-Rutgers History
Two and half hours separate the Tigers and the Scarlet Knights. Friday's matchup will be the 10th in series history, which Towson leads 5-4. Towson and Rutgers hit the hardwood for the first time since the 2005 season, a 3-2 Tiger victory in the Towson Center Arena. Friday will be Towson's first trip to New Brunswick since 2004.

Towson-Rutgers By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 5-4
at Towson n/a
at Rutgers Rutgers 1-2
at Neutral Sites Towson 4-2
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting 1978 - Towson 2, Rutgers 1
Last Meeting Aug. 26, 2005
Towson 3, Rutgers 2 (Towson, Md.)
Streak Towson +1

Last Time Out vs. Rutgers | Aug. 25, 2005 | Philadelphia, Pa.
Towson and Rutgers last met in the 30-point set era, with the Tigers winning 3-2 (30-17, 29-31, 19-30, 30-28, 15-10). Maddie Haseltine led Towson with 18 kills while April Hofman logged five aces. Kimberly Snider had 47 assists.

Scouting the Cavaliers
Virginia enters the weekend with a 2-1 overall record, topping Furman 3-1 and Loyola Maryland 3-0 before falling in straight sets against Coastal Carolina. Grace Turner paces the Cavaliers with 3.63 kills per set, followed closely by Sarah Billiard's 2.70 per-set average. Jelena Novakovic roped in six service aces last weekend, scoring three in each of the two wins. Kelsey Miller averages 4.10 digs per set for Virginia, logging 41 across 10 sets. At the net, Milla Ciprian has totaled 18 blocks, including 15 assisted stops for a 1.80 blocks per set average.

Towson-Virginia History
Friday's night cap will be the sixth meeting all-time between the Tigers and the Cavaliers. Virginia leads 3-2, but the Tigers had the last laugh with a 3-0 win over Virginia in 2017 in Boone, North Carolina. The teams first met back in 1981, a 2-1 win for the Cavaliers. When Towson beats Virginia, it's in straight sets, including a 2-0 win during the 1983 season.

Towson-Virginia By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Virginia Leads 3-2
at Towson  n/a
at Virginia Virginia 2-0
at Neutral Sites Towson 2-1
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting 1981 - Virginia 2, Towson 1
Last Meeting Sept. 2, 2017
Towson 3, Virginia 0 (Boone, N.C.)
Streak Towson +1

Last Time Out vs. Virginia | Sept. 2, 2017 | Boone, N.C. | Holmes Center
The last time the Tigers and the Cavaliers met, Towson collected a 3-0 win at a neutral site in Boone, North Carolina. Towson took the sets 25-20, 25-16 and 25-19 while hitting .242 for the match. Virginia was limited to a .085 hitting percentage thanks to seven Towson team blocks. Towson's attacks came from all over as seven players logged multiple kills while nine totaled kills. Towson victimized Virginia's backrow with seven service aces, including a pair from the since-graduated Anna Holehouse and Jocelyn Kuilan. Remaining Tigers that played in that match are Silvia Grassini, Annie Ertz, Camryn Allen and Marrisa Wonders.

Scouting the Tigers
Princeton opens its 2019 campaign this weekend just down the road from its home court. Last season, the Black & Orange Tigers went 19-6 overall and 12-2 in the Ivy League. Princeton was picked to finish first in the Ivy League Preseason Coaches' Poll, collecting 120 points and 10 first place votes. 

Towson-Princeton By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Princeton Leads 4-2
at Towson  Princeton 1-0
at Princeton Tied 1-1
at Neutral Sites Princeton 2-1
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting 1979 - Princeton 2, Towson 0
Last Meeting Sept. 6, 2018
Princeton 3, Towson 2 (Towson, Md.)
Streak Princeton +1

Towson-Princeton History
The Tiger squads meet for the seventh time in series history, with Princeton leading the series 4-2. Last season, the Black & Orange Tigers took a five-set win during the Towson Invitational at SECU Arena. The Towson Tigers are hunting their first win over the Princeton Tigers since a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 9, 2016, which was the last time these teams met at a neutral site.

With a Win Over Rutgers Towson Would...
- Extend Towson's regular season winning streak to seven straight.
- Towson's first win over a Big Ten opponent since topping Maryland in five sets on Sept. 10, 2016.
- Back-to-back wins over the Scarlet Knights for the first time since winning three-straight in 1991, 1995 and 1996.
- Be Towson's second-straight win over an opponent from the Garden State, pairing with a 3-0 sweep of Seton Hall.

She's a Freshman
After a strong performance to open her intercollgiate career, freshman Lydia Wiers was one of three Tigers named to the Morgan State Invitational All-Tournament Team. She was joined by senior Annie Ertz and sophomore Emily Jarome. Additionally, Wiers was tabbed as the Most Valuable Player after going 21 kills at a .529 rate and nine blocks.

Wins on Wins on Wins on Wins
Over the last five seasons, the Tigers have been a tough out for opponents. Between 2014-18, the Tigers have racked up a 121-41 overall record, which ranks 19th among NCAA Division I teams in terms of total wins in that span. With a winning percentage of .747 over the last five years, Towson ranks 22nd among fellow Division I teams in terms of winning percentage.

Bring Balance to the Force
Despite graduating some record-setting seniors a year ago, the Tigers return in 2019 with a strong balance of experience and youth. The Tigers return five seniors to the court this year, along with seven true freshman. Included in the fold will be two juniors seven sophomores, including two transfers. 

The ACC Won't Let Me Be Me
Friday's night cap will be the sixth time under head coach Don Metil that the Tigers will square up with an opponent from ACC. Under Metil, the Tigers are 2-3 against the league, including a 3-0 sweep of Miami last season. In 2017, Towson went 1-1, sweeping Virginia before falling 3-0 against Syracuse in the NIVC Tournament in Hamilton, N.Y. In Metil's first season at Towson (2013), the Tigers fell in both matches against ACC opponents NC State and Virginia Tech, both going to four sets.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
This fall, the Towson Tigers will check off each animal on the fabled list from the Wizard of Oz. Towson faced the Bears of Morgan Saturday on Aug. 31 before squaring off with Tigers of a different color against Princeton (Sept. 7). Towson will face Hofstra twice (Oct. 6, Oct. 27), which uses lions for its mascots. To date, Towson is 1-0 against the Wizard of Oz.

Tigers in the Community
The Towson University athletics department deems community service as one of its highest priorities to give back to the Greater Baltimore area.

• For the 7^th consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season.
• Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition.
• Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations.
• Towson won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.